stove-top waffle iron

I have a wonderful swedish waffle iron that you use on the stove - it has long handles and you heat one side, then turn it over, heat the other, and you;re ready to go. It makes a round waffle with a large scalloped edge that breaks into heart-shaped wedges. Very sweet. I don;t have room in my kitchen for an electric one and the current here is different anyway. This takes up little room because it's flat.
My daughter wanted one like it but i just can;t find any. I found a stove top american waffle iron but the two irons are not connected with a hinge, they just rest together, on a large and clumsy base. Not at all the nice, convenient and efficient swedish one i have (and also, not nearly as pretty). (And besides, i had it sent and they included in the package a political ad for a conservative politician which i thought was seedy and made me angry to think my money was going to this guy indirectly!)

Anyone know where to get one? In europe would be great. (I don;t know how to say waffle iron in swedish, so i can;t look on swedish sites. The one i bought was bought in the states in a fancy kitchen equipment store, and was imported from sweden).

"Siduri said, 'Gilgamesh, where are you roaming? You will never find the eternal life that you seek...Savour your food, make each of your days a delight, ... let music and dancing fill your house, love the child who holds you by the hand and give your wife pleasure in your embrace.'"

"Siduri said, 'Gilgamesh, where are you roaming? You will never find the eternal life that you seek...Savour your food, make each of your days a delight, ... let music and dancing fill your house, love the child who holds you by the hand and give your wife pleasure in your embrace.'"

I don't speak Swedish, so limited my research to English. This is what I found:

Waffles are "vafflor." They are traditional for Annunciation Day, "Varfrudagen," in mid-March. Swedish waffle recipes differ significantly from American and Belgian waffles. The cook makes a smooth paste with roughly equal volumes of flour and water, then aerates it by folding in whipped cream (2X un-whipped cream : water) just before baking. Those recipes which were produced with pictures often showed heart-shaped waffles.

Heart shaped, cast-iron waffle irons were, at one time, fairly common and are now sold as "antiques," dated back to the 20s by their sellers. I've had experience with antique cooking items, and while I don't doubt the sellers' sincerity their accuracy is suspect. I'd guess something more like the late 80s.

Square, aluminum, stove-top "Belgian Waffler" by Nordic Ware, available many places. Nordic Ware also makes a very nice KrumKake iron.

Round, cast iron, stove-top waffle iron from Rome Industries (amazon.com). Rome industries also makes a "Chuck-Wagon" waffle iron with some seriously long handles, designed for outdoor cooking. The hinge is designed to spearate easily for some esoteric reason.

Heart-shaped, electric waffle irons sold by Cutlery and More (made by Chef's Choice), and JC Penny's (mfgr unknown). These are small, table-top irons, and shouldn't can't imagine any storage problems. Current, on the other hand ... I've purchased, several times, from Cutlery and More. On the initial purchase there were several problems -- some their fault, some the fault of others. Cutlery and More took care of all of them quickly, efficiently, and without excuses. That's the best compliment I can give. I've also owned stuff made under the Chef's Choice name, and all of it has been very high quality. Nevertheless, I thought these particular irons were overpriced. If I were ordering one of these, I think I'd order from Penny's.

Given the apparent popularity of the shape in Scandinavia, I'd guess that stove-top irons are still in production there. If you're passionate about this, you might want to e-mail some of the people who've posted "Swedish waffle" recipes.

Good luck on your search,
BDL

ON EDIT: OK. I found them. Google the terms, "skeppshult waffle." Skeppshult being the place these particular irons are made. However, given that these beauties are going for UK 60 pounds, I think I'd buy the Prima electric iron from Amazon.uk for UK 20 pounds. But that's me.

wow, boar-d-laze, that's very helpful. Especially the swedish words to look up. It's not just the storage that makes me prefer the stove-top kind, it's the principle. I just can;t see the point of having to have yet another electric appliance (with all the additional possibilities for something to break, not to mention that electricity is more expensive than gas) when it makes so much more sense to use the stove you already have.
i'll do some more searching.
thanks
siduri

"Siduri said, 'Gilgamesh, where are you roaming? You will never find the eternal life that you seek...Savour your food, make each of your days a delight, ... let music and dancing fill your house, love the child who holds you by the hand and give your wife pleasure in your embrace.'"

"Siduri said, 'Gilgamesh, where are you roaming? You will never find the eternal life that you seek...Savour your food, make each of your days a delight, ... let music and dancing fill your house, love the child who holds you by the hand and give your wife pleasure in your embrace.'"

My daughter wanted one like it but i just can;t find any. I found a stove top american waffle iron but the two irons are not connected with a hinge, they just rest together, on a large and clumsy base. Not at all the nice, convenient and efficient swedish one i have (and also, not nearly as pretty). (And besides, i had it sent and they included in the package a political ad for a conservative politician which i thought was seedy and made me angry to think my money was going to this guy indirectly!)

Most of the good cast iron vendors in the US tend to be hunting stores, or outdoors stores with a strong fishing/hunting focus. This also tends to the conservative wing of politics in its customers. The store with the best selection and prices in my area is an Army Navy surplus store.

I have one of those waffle irons with the clumsy base. Works great actually but is a bit clunky until you figure it out. Longish handles. Pretty much like this:

Nordic ware makes a good belgian waffler, which cooks on the top of the stove. I really like mine, picked it up on eBay for $12 plus about $8 shipping (it is heavy). I made delicious, yeasty, belgian waffles the first time I tried. My suggestion: get an older model with the temperature gauges on both sides. The newer ones don't have them. :)

Donna

UPDATE:

I recently made true Liege style Belgian waffles on this iron. The recipe I used was this one.

They turned out tender and light in the middle and substantial and crisp on the outside. I HAD already read the recipe below, so I knew that the iron temperature was critical to get the sugar to carmelize, but not burn. I used an instant read thermometer on the iron, just as suggested. (I used sugar crystals, not pearl sugar, stirring them into the rather stiff batter at the last minute.

Last update: I finally settled upon this recipe. Easy, fast and gives a very good result. http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/2009/04/brussels-and-liege-waffles.html The thing I like about it is that it puts in some baking powder in the final batter for the "extra lift" to make the center light. My other recipes relied upon beaten egg whites (and the yolks were included in the batter too) - Which gave a good texture, but I happen to dislike baked items that are "too eggy". (I was so excited to make popovers then discovered they are WAY too eggy for me.) This recipe has only one egg, so I like it best. Others may like the egginess.

I've found one store that sells the exact Skeppshult waffle iron that you mentioned and they are located in Finland, Europe. I bought one waffle iron to my wife and she was more than pleased to it :) The price was pretty cheap even though the shipping fees were kind of high.

I did ask from the webstore about shipping worldwide since i did not find my country on their list. They gladly added the country and shipped the product to me immediately after order! So any one that would be interested ordering i great waffle iron in the future I recommend to go directly to Maypoint's pages.

I could never understand the attraction to waffles. Don't you eat them basically the same way as pancakes, i.e., with syrup or jam? Why would waffles be "better"? What do the little depressions in the product add? This is a sincere inquiry and am looking for sincere answer. Thank you.

Waffles are generally lighter (less dense) and have a crisper delicate crust. Going the other way, pancakes are heavier, wetter and often have a tendency to dissolve into a paste if you used mix for the base. Flavor is similar but the texture is where they differ the most. The indentations give you more surface area for that texture to come through and will capture the butter/syrup/jam rather than having it run off.

Thanx for replies. Esp. yours, phatch. You know how to answer a question in the most explicit way.

To Dilbert. I've never had a waffle in my life. I've made & eaten my share of pancakes, but I can't stand them when made with only white flour (they are gluey); to satisfy me, anyways, they have to have 50% whole flour. I have a great recipe from an old cookbook.

I was just wondering why anyone would spend all that money [on a waffle maker] when pancakes appeared to me to be basically the same kind of product as pancakes, but phatch has now convinced me otherwise. A waffle maker can do only one thing, but an old fashioned frying pan can cook anything, including pancakes. Therefore, if you are going to buy a kitchen item that does only one thing, it had better be worth it. I have an ancient black iron pancake griddle that I use sometimes but a s.s. frying pan works better for me.

Maybe I can convince a family member to get me one for Christmas. I went to amazon to check out the Nordic Ware mentioned above by boar d laze. Has lots of good reviews. But by the sounds of things, you have to practice for awhile before you get it just right. Like lots of things in life, I guess.

neither a waffle or a pancake should be "gluely" - pancake interiors should be cooked to something akin to a cake crumb; outside a thin browned 'skin'

waffles are also completely cooked "inside" - not doughy, not wet, not gooey - the outside and overall structure is "crisper" and" stiffer than a pancake. typically waffles have more sugar in the batter which promotes a crisper & browner outside.

can be made with baking powder or yeast as a leavening agent.

it is very easy to make miserable pancakes and/or waffles - there is "good technique" and bad attempts.

the griddle temperature, wetness of the batter and cook time all play a role - and yes, some experimenting may be required - especially using electric "automatic" type equipment where one may or may not a say in temperature control. it is not unlike pancakes - if the griddle temp is too high and/or the batter to "wet" you get dark outside and gooey inside... the batter wetness in pancakes also drastically affects how thick they finish - supe thick means lower temps because it takes more time for the interior to cook properly.

the flour type is your choice - I grew up with buckwheat pancakes. take note however that "the same recipe" for white flour(s) will require some adjusting to work with whole wheat mixes and stuff like buckwheat - which we made from a "starter" - similar to sourdough bread baking....

try some good waffles - they are really not "the same" as pancakes - I like them both.